


fifteen flares inside those ocean eyes

by milkywei



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aran has ocean eyes, Kita has golden eyes, M/M, Once again I obsess over eyes, mythology AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:46:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23984017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/milkywei/pseuds/milkywei
Summary: On his 21st birthday, Ojiro Aran, heir to the House of Ojiro, sets sail with a party aboard his ship. Halfway through, a dark storm threatens the safety of his ship and Aran is thrown overboard when he is trying to get everyone to safety. As he finds himself falling into the ocean, he feels a presence which saves him from the clutches of the cold seas.
Relationships: Kita Shinsuke/Ojiro Aran
Comments: 6
Kudos: 47





	fifteen flares inside those ocean eyes

**Author's Note:**

> this work is part of [HQ Rare Pair Week 2020](https://twitter.com/HQRareWeek2020)!
> 
>  **day 6** storm | beach | mythology!AU

Planning a party is already stressful enough, but planning a party on a ship is a whole other level altogether. It is the 21st birthday of the heir to the House of Ojiro, and the designated party planner is tearing at his head because this party is already so difficult to plan as it is.

First, the party would double up as a birthday party and a bachelor party for the heir as he will be going into marriage talks soon. Who knows the amount of alcohol required for such a party, the party planner has exhausted every brewery in town trying to get that much alcohol.

Second, the ship that would be used for the party belongs to young master Aran himself, so only he can steer the ship. The Lord and Lady would have his head if anything terrible were to happen to the young master so the party planner had to make a compromise with him to allow another person to steer (“Uh.. Young master, you would be busy drinking anyway, wouldn’t you? Don’t you think that it’s best if we leave the steering to someone else?” “Hmm… You’re right, Kurosu-san. But make sure that person knows how to handle a ship like mine!”).

Third, the guest list. The young master himself is a very reserved person and would rather keep the celebration among close male friends. However, the Lord and the Lady would also want him to include some ladies in the guest list so that the young master can have a head start on finding a lady to propose to.

The party planner is torn between fulfilling the Lord and the Lady’s wishes or going ahead with what the young master wants.

And finally, it just so happens that on the day that the ship is supposed to set sail, he hears that there will be a storm brewing. The party planner has advised the Lord and the Lady to postpone the party but they are insistent on sticking with the plan. “Our Aran is blessed with the luck of the ocean gods, Kurosu-san. As long as he is there, everyone will be alright,” they tell him.

The party planner can only sigh to his hands. He will never accept an assignment from the House of Ojiro again.

“Yo Aran!”

Aran pauses in tying the knots on the sails and turns to see his friends on board the ship. He grins and walks over to them, receiving their high fives and handshakes with excitement. He is actually alright with just having the Miya twins, Ren, Michinari and Hitoshi for this party but his parents had insisted that there be more people for him to expand his social circle as well. “Aran, you are now eligible to take over as the head of the family. You are not going to do so without a wife!”

Aran could only sigh because he has no interest in finding a wife soon. He still wants to live out his bachelor days and hang out with his friends. None of them seem particularly interested in settling down as well.

“Hey, Aran. Quite a guest list you got up here,” Atsumu, one of the Miya twins, grins. “I think I saw the Sakusa siblings when we were boarding. Lady Sakusa Kiyoko is _hot_.”

“You’re such an animal, ‘Tsumu,” his twin brother comments, turning his nose. “Can you at least not ditch Aran on his own birthday?”

“Unless you get Aran to ditch you instead,” Michinari suggests mischievously, elbowing Aran. “So, find anyone that you fancy?”

“You guys know I’m not interested in marriage at the moment, right?” Aran groans. “Let’s have fun like we always do!”

The party is in full swing by the time the ship leaves the harbour. Aran leaves his ship in the very capable hands of one Riseki Heisuke, who strikes Aran as a very sensible person. There is dancing on the deck and lots of alcohol involved.

The night is filled with music and laughter as everybody’s spirits are high. Ren is trying to stop Michinari from getting himself into any trouble. Atsumu has gone up to chat with Sakusa Kiyoko, but he is being cockblocked instead by her younger brother Sakusa Kiyoomi, who glares at Atsumu with the most unfriendly eyes.

Hitoshi and Osamu are of course good friends who have chosen to stay by Aran’s side.

“It’s your birthday party but why does it seem like you’re not enjoying it?” Osamu asks.

Aran sighs as he nurses his bottle of tequila. “My parents keep bringing up the marriage thing since the planning for the party started. You’d think that they’re planning for a wedding instead.”

Hitoshi frowns. “But didn’t you tell them that you’re not interested in marriage at the moment?”

“I did,” Aran replies. “But they just don’t listen. I think they’re just worried that if anything were to happen to them, at least I wouldn’t be alone.”

“You don’t need a _wife_ for that,” Osamu grunts, cheeks dusted red and obviously drunk. “I don’t get why adults think that we need to get married to a girl and have kids to continue the lineage. What if I don’t want to marry a girl?”

Aran is stunned by Osamu’s outburst and he glances at Hitoshi, who looks like he is already used to this. “What if I tried to get myself to like a girl for _years_ but I can’t? What if I just don’t want to get married to a girl?” Osamu continues to rant.

“Is he… alright?” Aran whispers to Hitoshi.

“His parents gave him the lineage talk again,” Hitoshi explains. “Lord and Lady Miya are already in their 60s so they are putting a lot of pressure on the twins to give them grandchildren. Atsumu doesn’t seem like he would want to settle down anytime soon and Osamu… he just doesn’t think he would ever get married to a girl.”

Aran’s eyes widen. “Is he… gay?”

Hitoshi shrugs. “He never really says it out loud when he’s sober.”

This is news to Aran. He has never thought that Osamu would be gay. Their group of friends always casually talked about girls, heck Atsumu is always chasing after them. The thought of Osamu not wanting to marry a girl is somewhat reassuring to Aran.

Because he does not think he is sure that he would marry a girl too. To be frank, he does not really care what their gender is. He just thinks that his parents’ obsession with him finding a _wife_ is just too much.

“Hey, why are there people in the water?” Osamu mutters, pointing to a spot in the dark water.

Aran and Hitoshi look over to where Osamu is pointing and frown when they do not see anyone. “Did you drink too much?” Aran asks, snickering as he looks back at Osamu.

Osamu blinks, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. “No… I swear, I saw two people in the water. One of them has silver hair and the other has brown hair. They both aren’t wearing any clothes…”

Aran glances over to Hitoshi, who is already taking the bottle of whiskey from Osamu’s hands. “Alright, big guy. I think you’ve had enough to drink for today,” Hitoshi tells Osamu, who is trying to grab his bottle back.

“Hitoshi, nooooo,” Osamu whines but Aran claps his hands on his shoulders and he startles.

“Go and lie down for a while at the cabins okay? You can come up again when you’ve sobered up enough,” Aran tells him.

Osamu pouts but he listens to Aran, letting Hitoshi lead him to the cabins. Aran chuckles and shakes his head at Osamu’s silliness. He walks over to the wheel, where Heisuke is looking far into the distance. “What’s up, Captain Heisuke?” Aran asks.

“Forecast says that there’s a storm brewing,” Heisuke mutters. “That black cloud over there doesn’t look like good news.”

Aran squints his eyes towards the direction that Heisuke is pointing at. True enough, the sky before them is turning much darker than usual and the waves are getting even choppier.

“We should get everyone into the lower deck,” Aran says to Heisuke. His sentence is punctuated by a loud roll of thunder and he is on his feet immediately.

“EVERYBODY STOP!” Aran yells over the music that is playing on the ship. The musicians stop playing their instruments and everybody stops dancing, turning to look at the young master. “There is a storm coming and we need everybody to get into the lower deck!”

By this time, it has started to drizzle and a flash of lightning followed by a roar of thunder causes screams from the ship. People quickly make their move and Michinari and Ren assist Aran in making sure everybody is safe inside.

“How far are we from the harbour?” Ren asks Aran, face contorted in worry.

“About half an hour away. Heisuke is turning back the ship once everybody is inside,” Aran replies. “We’re gon-”

He gets cut off by a much taller boy grabbing the front of his shirt, snarling angrily at him. “Where the fuck is Miya Atsumu and where has he taken my sister?!”

“Woah, hey, calm down!” Michinari says in an attempt to mediate between Aran and a furious Sakusa Kiyoomi. “I think I saw Atsumu at the bow.”

Sakusa lets go of Aran and is about to stalk off in that direction but Aran stops him. “You need to head inside. I’ll go find Atsumu and your sister.”

“I don’t trust Miya!” Sakusa shouts at him just as another loud thunder clap shocks everyone. The rain is starting to get heavier, pelting harshly on them, and Aran cannot risk anything in this weather.

“Sakusa, I’ll make sure that she’s safe. You have my word,” Aran tells him and Sakusa looks at him with fearful eyes.

“Please,” is the only thing Sakusa says before he lets Ren lead him down to the lower deck.

Aran leaves Michinari in charge of herding the rest of the party guests to safety and runs over to the ship’s bow. He finds Atsumu and Lady Kiyoko, both hiding near the forecastle to seek shelter from the rain. “Atsumu!” Aran yells out, trying to get his friend’s attention over the sound of the loud thunderstorm.

He sees Atsumu perk up and he yells back to Aran. “Aran! We’re over here!”

Aran carefully walks over to them, trying to keep his balance despite how badly the ship is swaying from the choppy waters. He manages to reach them and shields Lady Kiyoko from the rain. “Everybody is in the lower deck. Come on, we need to be careful,” Aran tells them.

Atsumu puts an arm around Lady Kiyoko to support her and the three of them make their way back. Suddenly, there is a flash of lightning in front of the ship and the ship jerks, causing Aran, Atsumu and Lady Kiyoko to lose their balance.

“ARAN!” Atsumu yells as Aran slides off the deck sideways.

“I’m fine, don’t worry about me!” Aran shouts back. He grits his teeth as he holds onto a rope to get back onto his feet. “Get Lady Kiyoko to safety. I’ll be right behind you.”

Atsumu has a look of terror on his face but he nods and brings Lady Kiyoko with him. Aran hopes that Heisuke is doing okay steering the ship. He is about to move again when he slips on the wet deck, falling head first to the floor. By this time, Atsumu and Lady Kiyoko are no longer in sight, so Aran hopes that they have made it to safety.

His head hurts, and he thinks that the wetness at the back of his head is too thick to be rain. He is about to get on his feet again but the ship jerks, causing him to get thrown overboard, his eyes wide as he feels his body being flung into the water.

* * *

Aran remembers how painful it is when his body collides with the water. The ocean is cold as it touches his skin and Aran can barely move as his limbs start to lock from the freezing temperature. He is slowly drowning but he can still see the shadow of the ship on the surface of the water. _Is this it for him?_

He suddenly feels a body behind his back and he feels arms locked underneath his. His mind is already too hazy from the loss of blood on the back of his head. Maybe this is a hallucination?

He closes his eyes, remembering how strange it is that there is _warmth_ this deep in the ocean.

He thinks he comes to consciousness after a while. He is not sure of it because his eyes would not open, his eyelids still a bit too heavy. However, he hears voices talking near him.

“Kita, it’s my fault! I’m the one who wanted to see the human’s ship.”

Huh… It does not sound like any voice Aran can recognise.

“No, Suna. Don’t blame yourself. You’re young, you followed what your young heart asked of you.”

“But the ocean was angry because I followed my heart.”

“Never have any regrets following your heart. The ocean is never angry with her children.”

“Kita? Wh- What are you going to do?”

“Suna, I need you to go back and tell the elders what happened.”

“Kita, no! You can’t give up your coat! You won’t be able to come back if you do.”

“There was something dark about that storm. I need to know why it wanted to take this human with it.”

“But Kita-”

“I’ll be alright, Suna. Go ahead.”

There is silence for a moment and Aran hears a splash, as if a body had dived into the water. He feels something warm being laid on him and then he feels the delicate touch of fingers on his face. His eyelids finally do not feel so heavy anymore and he opens them slightly to see a beautiful man hovering over him.

The man has silver hair with dark tips and the brightest golden eyes Aran has ever seen. The man seems to have startled when Aran’s eyes open just a bit, but he smiles as his fingers cup Aran’s cheek.

“Hmm.. Eyes the colour of the calm seas. No wonder the ocean favours you,” the man murmurs.

Aran is confused but he thinks he is also delirious. Is this beautiful man in front of him even real?

The man leans into Aran and he can feel his breath on his ear. Aran inhales his scent in his delirious state. He smells like the salty waters of the ocean mixed with an unfamiliar scent which he does not recognise. “Don’t lose my coat, human. For now, I belong to you,” the man’s soft voice whispers into his ear. “I’ll find out who was behind that storm and keep you out of danger.”

“Aran!”

The man pulls himself away from Aran and disappears within seconds. As Aran is starting to regain more of his consciousness, he realises that he is currently on the beach near his family home. He is pulled up by Atsumu’s arms and a blanket is draped around him.

“Aran, _holy shit_. We thought we lost you!” Atsumu blabbers. Aran is still drowsy but he is able to make out Osamu, Michinari, Ren and Hitoshi hovering over him.

“S-ship… P-people...” Aran weakly says.

“Geez, Aran. You were the one who got thrown overboard but all you care about is the ship?” Michinari chides him, his voice sounding strangely hoarse. “Everyone is accounted for if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Aran, you’re bleeding. We need to get you to a doctor,” Osamu says.

Hitoshi and Atsumu help to hold Aran up as they make their way to the Ojiro house. “C-coat…” Aran mutters. “W…Where’s the coat…”

“This thing?” Ren asks, holding up the coat which has been covering Aran on the beach.

“K...Keep,” Aran tells him with a nod.

The boys look at each other in confusion but they say nothing. Aran feels himself slipping out of consciousness again and as he does, his mind wanders to a beautiful man who smells of the ocean and has the brightest golden eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> title taken from billie eilish's ocean eyes
> 
> additional note:  
> suna and kita are selkies! according to mythology, when a selkie loses their coat, they are not able to return back to the ocean. the person who is in possession of the selkie's coat would also somewhat be bound to the selkie.
> 
> thank you for reading!! i think this is one of the more interesting plots that i wish i had the time to expand on. i didn't want to rush through the story and do a huge disgrace to arankita, so i'm just leaving it like this. idk maybe i'll revisit this after i've more experience with aran and kita's characterisation! 
> 
> hit me up on twitter @miyaagiboys if you wanna chat! i promise i won't bite (*ﾉωﾉ)


End file.
